DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Aindo uses generative AI to develop synthetic data. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck used to secured $6 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A startup that uses generative AI to create synthetic data has just nabbed $6 million in Series A funding from United Ventures. Italian startup Aindo, which launched in 2018, has developed and patented a technology which can generate artificial data, which mimics the characteristics and patterns of the original dataset. This can then be used to train AI models across a range of industries. IBy 2024, 60% of the data used for AI will be synthetic, according to estimates from Gartner. Europe's data protection laws also mean that acquiring certain data points – such as medical records or patient details — is difficult.

Persons: Daniele Panfilo, Panfilo, Aindo's, Aindo Organizations: United Ventures, Gartner

☆ UK’s Motorway takes eBay approach for consumers to sell cars to dealers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

EBay also sells cars in the UK, though its own marketplace consists of consumers or dealers selling to consumers. The pandemic "acted as a massive accelerant" for Motorway because physical auctions were closed for months and dealers needed access to cars, Leathes said. In 2022, its auctions doubled to 1.7 billion pounds ($2.06 billion). That should double again this year, giving Motorway around a 5% share in a UK used-car market worth 80 billion pounds, Leathes said. Dealers can now use "wallets" for multiple transactions and Motorway now picks up around 30% of the cars it sells and delivers them to dealers.

Persons: Tom Leathes, Leathes, Nick Templeton, Templeton, Lewis Jent, Nick Carey, Nick Zieminski Organizations: eBay, Reuters, EBay, Index Ventures, Growth, BMW I Ventures, BMW, Dealers, Tesla, Thomson Locations: Britain, U.S, Leathes, CarShop

☆ SPAC shell games will keep hiding the ball
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

It’s more or less how another 216 companies backed into public markets in 2021, according to SPAC Research. They’re on track to miss the mark by more than 40%, delivering only about $55 billion, according to recent forecasts compiled by LSEG. The electric-vehicle industry, for one, was a serial SPAC user whose exuberance sputtered badly. Dressing them up as acquisitions of private firms by listed shell companies enables the participants to play by looser rules. SPAC investors buy shares in the empty vessel before its sponsor and takeover target agree on a valuation.

Persons: Vishal Garg, Better’s, Breakingviews, SPACs, ”, Joel Rubinstein, Donald Trump’s, Spruce, Woodruff Sawyer, Gary Gensler, Ellis, Gensler, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, & Finance, Research, LSEG, Polestar Automotive, White, The Securities, Exchange Commission, XL Fleet, SEC, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Case, Kirkland, U.S . Securities, Financial Services, Thomson

☆ Jittery markets may tie Dutch insurers' hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dutch insurers NN (NN.AS) and ASR (ASRNL.AS) have lost 3 billion euros of combined market value after court rulings in the Netherlands raised the prospect of large compensation claims. The respective 22% and 16% stock price collapse will put pressure on the two groups to reach a speedy resolution. But customers argue that the insurers marketing these policies failed to disclose how much of their premiums went to actual investments, and how much covered the sellers’ costs. Take Hague-based NN: it has 315,000 active woekerpolissen policies and 581,000 inactive ones, ING reckons. Its 2.1 billion euro market value loss is equivalent to a claim of 2,300 euros per policy.

Persons: Pamela Barbaglia, ’, quagmire, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, ING reckons, JPMorgan reckons, Dutch, X, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, Ukraine

☆ Italy’s fiscal weakness toughens its green plight
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks on, on the day of the state funeral of the former Italian President and senator, Giorgio Napolitano in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2023. Rome also cut its GDP forecasts to 0.8% and 1.2% over the next two years, from 1% and 1.5% before. The ballooning deficit is chiefly a result of ill-fated renovation incentives introduced by previous governments and amounting to some 140 billion euros, or 7% of Italy’s GDP. Record-high euro zone interest rates are also increasing the cost of servicing Italy’s mammoth debt, seen at 140% of GDP by year-end. The risk is that Rome's green transition becomes a victim of its fiscal challenges.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Giorgio Napolitano, Yara, Europe’s, Lisa Jucca, ’, quagmire, Neil Unmack, Streisand Neto Organizations: Italian, REUTERS, Reuters, X, Thomson Locations: Italian, Rome, Italy, Ukraine

☆ Sanction shocker delays UBS valuation upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That’s one lesson from the $3 billion slide in market value for his bank UBS (UBSG.S) on Wednesday. The report says that the DOJ is launching a full-scale investigation into Credit Suisse, which UBS now owns after a state-backed rescue in March. UBS has about $6 billion of provisions set aside for legal and regulatory bills, suggesting shareholders are well protected against Credit Suisse’s historic nasties. After Wednesday’s slide, UBS’s share price is almost exactly in line with its most recent tangible book value per share, compared with a roughly 30% premium back in early March. The implication is that investors are less excited about UBS’s prospects after incorporating Credit Suisse than they were about its standalone story.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti can’t, Liam Proud, ’, quagmire, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, UBS, Bloomberg, U.S . Department of Justice, DOJ, Credit Suisse, Credit, X, Thomson Locations: Ukraine

☆ Net neutrality may be US regulators’ next quagmire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jonathan Newton/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - U.S. regulators risk another quagmire. The Federal Communications Commission wants to reinstate net neutrality rules that regulate how traffic flows on the internet. As with antitrust enforcers’ often-frustrated deal crackdown, the agency is stuck in a cycle of trying to litigate future problems, today. Regulators are trying to use yesterday’s tools to address the hypothetical problems of tomorrow. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jessica Rosenworcel, Jonathan Newton, ’, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Jennifer Saba, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: U.S . Senate Commerce, Science, Transportation Committee, Federal Communications Commission, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Verizon Communications, Netflix, Regulators, X, Republicans, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Ukraine

☆ Republicans leave Ukraine, weed, crypto in limbo
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Legislative casualties of U.S. Congress’s budget fight are emerging. His caving to extreme members of the party augurs poorly for measures like Ukraine aid and cannabis banking. Republicans including Representative Matt Gaetz and Representative Andy Biggs have already denied calls for new Ukraine aid. By siding with further-right members, McCarthy gives them more power to hold the line.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Jonathan Ernst, Joe Biden, Biden, McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Ben Winck, Bernie Sanders’s, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Reuters, Republican, Wednesday, Banking, X, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Ukraine, Washington

☆ Cazoo’s debt fix points to bumpy ride
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That’s not the fate of shareholders in UK-based and U.S.-listed Cazoo (CZOO.N), which has just announced a brutal debt restructuring. Under the deal announced on Wednesday, bondholders will swap $630 million of convertible notes for $200 million of fresh debt and a large slug of the equity. The debt cut will do little to fix Cazoo’s rickety engine. Although the company had 195 million pounds of cash at the end of June, it burnt through over 50 million pounds in the previous six months. And revenue this year is expected to fall nearly 40%, as customers racked by high interest rates tighten their belts.

Persons: That’s, Cazoo, Aimee Donnellan, Bernie Sanders’s, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Little Journey helps children prepare for hospital procedures and clinical trials. Check out the 12-slide deck it used to raise $3.1 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

London-based Little Journey has raised $3.1 million for its children's health platform. The startup helps children and families prepare for hospital procedures and clinical trials. Check out the 12-slide deck Little Journey used to raise the fresh funds. A startup that has developed a platform to support children and their families during hospital procedures and clinical trials has just raised $3.1 million. Little Journey makes children aware of who they're meeting and where they're going and gives them coping strategies before their clinical procedures.

Search resuls for: "Cazoo"

10 mentions found